A CONTROVERSIAL firm which provides bedsidetelephones and entertainment at Southport Hospital has gone into administration.

Bankers decided last week that debt-ridden company Patientline had no hope of financial recovery.

The much-criticised company, which last year tried to offset massive deficits by charging incoming calls at a rate of 26p per minute, is to be taken over by a new consortium.

Patients were charged up to 49p a minute for outgoing calls and £2.90 to watch television.

Conservative councillor Brenda Porter said: “It is never nice to see a business go into administration but they were charging ridiculous amounts and taking advantage of vulnerable people.

“I hope the company that takes over will be on the side of the patients.”

Support group the Patients Association documented dozens of poor families who unwittingly spent £100 or more whilst recovering from an operation and were left unable to pay the bills.

Southport MP John Pugh said there was “no excuse for profiting from the sick.”

He commented: “The collapse of Patientline will be mourned by no-one except its directors. Their overpriced charges have been a source of constant complaint and a major contribution to the hidden cost of being sick.

“One can only hope the NHS has learnt from the experience.”

With debts approaching £90m, Patientline went into administration last Friday and applied for its almost worthless shares to be suspended from trading on the London stock exchange.

A Patientline spokesman said there were no plans for redundancies among the company's 1,000 staff.

Sir Ron Watson, Southport & Ormskirk NHS Trust chairman, said: “We want to do all we can to ensure that our patients are able to communicate and to access various services whilst they are with us but I hope that speedy arrangements to continue the service with a different provider will be a priority.”

The company’s hospitals business has been taken over by Hospedia, a new group which will initially be owned by the four banks that are owed millions by Patientline.